The annual conference organised by the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) is one of the largest in the world and features over 500 academic sessions and events including daily Plenary sessions, talks, workshops, and forums. In this article, Sarah Quinn, a teacher at the British Council in France, shares her reflections on this year’s IATEFL conference, which took place in Brighton in April 2026.
First impressions
IATEFL is quite an experience as a first-time attendee and speaker. The atmosphere arriving at the conference venue in sunny Brighton was incredible, as was the opportunity to meet colleagues from around the world, learn from inspiring talks and workshops and share ideas with other participants.
Critical reflection: the responsibility of teaching English as a global language
From the outset, there was a focus on English as a global language. Patricia Angoy gave a thought-provoking plenary on the responsibility we share in teaching English, recognising its historical ties and associations as well as its place in the world today. She spoke about the risk of language erosion when English is prioritised above local languages without critical consideration, emphasising the need to preserve all languages and the “multiplicities of meaning” they create. In the plenary session Reimagining language education for peace in our divided world, Larisa Kasumagić Kafedžić reflected on the power of language and the choices we can make in the classroom to promote social cohesion, resilience and cultural preservation through critical and reflective approaches. I was interested to note that these views align with those of the British Council's newly published position paper on language-responsive education.
Promoting inclusive practice
The critical role of the teacher was a theme that ran across several inspiring sessions I attended, which focused on how we can use creativity, specific resources and professional judgement and expertise to promote inclusivity and respond to learners' contexts.
My colleague, Andrew McMullen, led a session showing how the British Council promotes inclusive teaching, drawing on expertise already present in our teams to integrate Special Educatonal Needs (SEN) approaches to the benefit of all learners. Demonstrating that approaches and principles are just as important as the detailed specialist knowledge of areas of need, the project has been achieved through reflective, collaborative learning for teachers.
Taghrid Ahmed gave an inspiring talk on responding to difficult topics in class drawing from her own experiences as a refugee, an EFL teacher and an examiner. With 15,0000 refugee and migrant students learning EFL in the UK, and many teachers working in countries that are not politically stable, are we equipped to respond to what may come up in the classroom? While avoiding politics in lessons is common, we risk silencing important conversations that give learners opportunities to develop language they need. The talk offered practical resources and approaches to help teachers create space for dialogue in class.
I was also very happy to have attended my colleague Fatima Taha’s impactful talk on navigating identity in ELT leadership, where we were encouraged to reflect on how our own different roles and identities influence our professional practice.
I think many of us felt seen in these sessions. Rather than being daunted by the complexity of what we do, it was inspiring to experience the wealth of expertise available when we give space to sharing ideas and speak openly about the challenges we face as educators.
